Improvement in steam-plows



d tant mais EUGENE A. TOUNLEY AND EMIL S. FRIEDRICH, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

Letto/rs Patent No. 89,361, dated April 27, 1869.

NIPROVEMENT IN STEAM-FLOWS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the lamn.

To all whom 'it ma/y concern Be it known that we, EUGENEA. ToUNLnY and EMIL S. FRIEDRICH, ofthe city and county of Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented a new and improved Steam-Plow; and we do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The invention consists of the means used for propelling or moving the machine to which the plows are attached, either forward or back, or turning the machine around.

It further consists in the construction of the traction-feet and their manner of operation.

t further consists in the devices used by which the machine is caused to diverge from a right line or for turning it around; and

It further consists in the devices whereby the plows are elevated or depressed, as desired, to any depth in the ground or completely clear of the ground.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use our invention, we will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

Figure 1 is an upright side view of the machine;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same;

Figure 3 is a view of the bottom or under side of the same;

` Figure 4 is an upright end view; and

Figure 5 is a view of a plow and standard.

In the drawings- A represents the frame ofthe machine in the form represented, and to which the operating-devices are connected.

B B are the two main driving-shafts, placed transversely underneath the platform or frame A, and having bearings firmly fixed to said frame.

O C are wheels, four in number, freely revolving on shafts B.

D D are cams placed eccentrically upon shafts B.

D D are cranks upon the same shafts, and do the same olice as cams D D, and are placed so that the cranks or cams will not all be coincident in their revolut-ions, but placed to make the feet or treads act on the ground successively.

E E are frames in which the traction-feet a c are placed, and in which they freely work in the holes a a."

F F are caster-wheels for giving direction to the machine.

G G are grooved wheels on upright shafts g g.

H is a transverse shaft, having bearings H', and upon said shaft are segmental toothed pinions, which work into grooved wheels G G, and operate to raise and fall thecaster-wheels F F by means of lever H.

G is a `lever attached to shaft g g by means of a connecting-bar and link, and operates to turn casterwheels F to give direction to the machine.

i I I are the plows rmly attached to standards I' I', which have teeth fi t'.

J is an angular transverse shaft attached to frame A, and on which are as many segmental pinions j as there are plows to be operated upon.

These segmental pinions j have teeth which fit into teeth or gear on standard I' of the plows, and operate to raise and lower the plows by means of the lever K, I

which is firmly fixed upon shaft J, and rotates said shaft and pinions.

It is a detent that holds against the teeth of a ratchet wheel to keep it and the plows in place.

k is a pawl upon lever K, with a spring, k, to hold it in position to catch on the teeth of a ratchetwheel on shaft J to turn the shaft, and thus raise and lower the plows.

I" I are diagonal plates on the top and bottom of frame A, with mortises to receiverthe standards of the plows and tend to hold the plows iirmly in their position, whilst the standards can freely slide through thc mortises.

O and O are rollers upon shafts O.

S represents a steam-engine, which` may be of any suitable construction, and with any arrangement of devices for communicating motion to the drivin g-shafts Many attempts have heretofore been made to adapt a locomotive-engine having revolving traction-wheels to the purpose of plowing; but such attempts have failed mainly for the reason that with revolving traction-wheels, it requires the weight of the engine and machine to be enough to overcome the resistance to the plows in order to move forward and successfully do the work, and all this great weight has to be propelled by the power of the engine which makes the machine unwieldy, expensive, and has a want of caf pacity of adapting itself to the varying surface of the ground, as well as to the texture of the ground itself.

The invention as herein described is intended to overcome the ohjectins heretofore experienced in the want of sufficient traction to surely perform the oper ation of plowing to the extent of the power of the engine employed.

To do this we substitute for the traction-wheels in common use traction-feet or treads, which alternately come in contact with and take hold of the ground, and when so in contact wit-h the ground, the power is exerted through them in the direction parallel with the plane of motion of the machine and plows, thus producing the greatest effect with a given amount of power upon the plows in. propelling them forward, and in a sure and reliable manner without any ,fear of slipping or stopping, and to this end and purpose we place the frames E E having the traction-feet or treads a, inserted, and working therein, as shown in fig. 1, upon either revolving cranks or camson shafts B B.

The frames E E have parallel bars, secured in proper position by bolts, any number necessary to give the strength to sustain the strain, and through these bars in holes for that purpose, the stems of the traction-feet or treads pass, any number of which may be used, and around the stems of the feet or treads, and between the bars are placed coiled springs b, the lower ends of which are securely attached to the stem of the treads. These coiled springs may be constructed so as to have a greater or less flexibility, as desired, by different-sized wires iu their construction, or there may be a screw-nut placed underneath the upper bar to screwdown on the stem and contract the spring so that it willbe less flexible.

The traction-feet or treads a may be of metal alone, or they may be shod with wood, or rubber or other "substance, and in any desired shape, and the stems,

where they pass through the bars of the frame, may be round, square, or of any other form desired. They may be used singly or in pairs, as seen in fig. 3 at c', by using a tread or foot that will connect two or more together.

When the frames E E are thus constructed, they are placed over cams D or cranks D ou shafts B. B, in such manner that when the shafts are caused to rcvolve by engine S, connected in any suitable way by gear or otherwise to give motion to said shafts, as shown in fig. 2, the traction-feet o: treads are forced upon and in contact with the ground, and as they come in such contact, theyV remain firmly in their position until the revolution of the crank or caml raises them from contact with the ground, and arc thus the means of propelling the machine forward.

These frames may be cased so as to prevent dust from adhering to the feet, as seen in figs. 2 and 3.

The cams or cranks are placed upon the shafts B B, so that ir.- their revolution, carrying the frames E E and feet a, their greatest eccentricity will be on a perpendicular line through the centre of the shafts at the same time, and so arranged as not to bringall the frames coincident in their actions, but to act at different times and at different points in the revolution of the shafts, or they may be so arranged that two or three frames with their feet will act at the same instant and during a half revolution of the shafts, or so that there will be three or more points in the revolution ofthe shafts at which they will come into contact with the ground.

Any number of these frames maybe used upon the shafts' B, but of course proportioned to the number of plows andweiglit of the machine.

When the feet or treads are in contact with the ground, the coiled springs l) make them iieXible, or tend to hold them in firm contact until in the revolution of the crank or cam, they are raised out of such cont-act; but they are to be graduated so as to have a greater downward projection lthan just to come to the surface of the ground, as in that case there would be no traction, and the weight of the machine would be upon the plows and rollers, for it is designed that these treads or feet will in ordinary cases sustain nearly all the weight of the machine when in the position given by thecranks or cams while their greatest ecoentricity is down or underneath the shaft.

These springs also assist thefeet or treads in having a firm hold uponuneven or soft ground, as they are as effectual in operation on such ground as upon thesurface that is even, smooth, and hard, which -makes their construction and application of the means of propulsion reliable and sure in all conditions and shape of surface of the ground.

lhe free wheels C C on shafts B B are not calculated to sustain the weight of the machine unless in passing over uneven ground, they I nay strike some high point, when they will assist in mounting the machine over it.

firmly attached to standards I I', which standards have lcogs or teeth in one edge into which ear cogs or teeth ou segmental piuions j on diagon. shaft J, which is parallel with the oblique line of direction of the plows with relation to the frame A.

Firmly fixed to shaft J is lever K. By operating this lever K the shaft J is rotated, and the segmental pinions 7' cause the raising or falling of the plows, so that by the motion of the lever K the plows are adjusted to any desired depth in the ground, or they can be raised high enough to be entirely free from and above the ground, as in the case of turning the machine around, or iu travellingto or from the field.

For giving direction to the machine, and for causing it to turn around when desired, caster-wheels F F, in suitable frames are used, and are attached to upright shafts g g, and to which is attached lever G.

The two shafts g g are connected so as to be operated upon by lever G by connecting-barb and link h', so that by turning the lever G to the right or left will cause the machine to be deflected from a direct line,

completely around.

The caster-wheels must be made to rise and fall, for they do not want to be in contact with the ground only when it is desirable to turn the machine, or if in contact, they can be forced down to' take a greater amount of the weight when desired.

To do this, grooved wheelsG G are placed upon shafts g g, and into these grooves work the cogs or teeth of segmental pinions G G" on shaft H, and to which is fixed lever H, and by depressing lever H causes shaft H, with the toothed pinions G" G, to press the caster-wheels firmly down upon the ground, or enough so to cause the machine to be turned from y a straight line or completely around.

h is a hook which holds the lever down whenr.de

sired.

At either end of the machine are rollers O, and extending outside of the frame are the auxiliary rollers O O', all on shafts O" O" These rollers are used for levelling hillocks or breaking down weeds or obstacles in the way of the successful operation of the traction-feet, caster-wheels, or the plows.

The plows and the devices' for raising them may be, if desired, arranged on a separate frame from that upon which the power is placed, and by being attached Aby chains or other meats, canl then be drawn by the machine above described without departing from the principle of our invention.

This arrangement of devices can be made useful for other purposes than plowing', and the power can vbe used as stationary to drive other machinery by placing upon shaft B bevel-wheel'V to gear into pinion w ou shaft z, and having crank-wheel r, by simply raising it up so that the traction-feet will not touch the ground, or by taking ol` the frames E E from shafts B B It can also be used Without the plows as a. locomotive on common roads, streetor other railways, and for propelling reaping and mowing-machines; in short, it may be used wherever. a locomotive power is required.

tion with the machine, as any well-known means of connecting the power of thc engine to our machine may be used.

Having thus described our invention,

What we desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The frames E E having the traction-feet or treads a, a, coiled springs b, constructed in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.

2. The combination' of the shaftsB B, cams D, or

' The plows I I are in the common form, and are or by turning the lever more it will cause it to turn We lay no claim to the steam-engine or its connec cranks D', with the frames EE, constructed and arranged to operate in the manner substantially as described.

3. The combination of the lever G', connecting-bar h, link li', with shafts g g, and caster-wheels F F, arranged to operate substantially in the manner and for the purpose as described.

4. 'lhe combination of the lever H shaft H, segmental pinion G", with grooved wheels G G, shafts g g, and easter-wheels F F, arranged to operate in the manner and for the purpose substantially as described.

5. The combination of the lever K, having pawl le', spring k", with segmental toothed pinion j, shaft J,

7. The steam-plow machine' above described, when the several parts are constructed, arranged, and combined together in one machine in the manner substantially as set forth.

EUGE. A. TOUNLEY. Witnesses: EMIL S. FRIEDRICH.

M. A. AUSTIN, GEORGE W. N OKEs. 

